Fears that Russia's military intervention in Syria would not be confined to degrading the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) were heightened on Sept. 30, when President Vladimir Putin ordered the first Russian air strikes in Syria. According to the U.S. and Syrian rebels on the ground, Russian warplanes steered clear of ISIL entirely and instead focused on areas held by other rebel factions fighting the Syrian regime of Bashar al-Assad, Moscow's longtime ally.
Al Jazeera America: Russia’s Syria strikes reveal incoherence in US policy
US Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter arrives to speak about Russian airstrikes in Syria during a press briefing at the Pentagon in Washington, DC, Sept. 30, 2015
